A survey of migrants from Central America and Mexico conducted by the International Organization for Migration found that half had lost their jobs in the pandemic. From Ukraine to Myanmar, Mozambique to Venezuela, migrant workers around the world retraced their steps by the millions. Finding a way to revive the movement of workers without fueling new outbreaks will be crucial to fixing the global economy. “If we are unable to relaunch migration and mobility safely — and universally — the world’s ability to recover from economic recession will be limited,” wrote Antonio Vitorino, the director general of the IOM. When the pandemic hit, it left two of the Athekkatil brothers jobless and pushed two others into a state of deep uncertainty. With tears in his eyes, Ramakrishnan recalled how the newspaper company where he had worked since 1999 in the United Arab Emirates — rising from the printing plant to the bill collection department — sent him a letter saying he was being let go. Pradeesh, 37, the youngest of the five, had worked as a driver for a limousine company doing airport pickups and drop-offs, also in the UAE. He said he wasn’t paid for three months and then the company asked drivers to go unpaid for another three months. “There are only 365 days in a year,” Pradeesh said bitterly. Without jobs, the two brothers had no choice but to go home.